The Minions vs. the Mouse: Disneyland and Universal Studios square off

April 29, 2014

Updated April 30, 2014 11:51 a.m.

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Universal Studios is betting big money that its “Despicable Me” minions can help the company take market share from the industry-leading Walt Disney theme parks and its iconic Mickey Mouse. Illustration by Chris Morris

Universal Studios is betting big money that its “Despicable Me” minions can help the company take market share from the industry-leading Walt Disney theme parks and its iconic Mickey Mouse.Illustration by Chris Morris

Universal Studios is betting big money that its “Despicable Me” minions can help the company take market share from the industry-leading Walt Disney theme parks and its iconic Mickey Mouse. It’s just the latest battle in a multibillion-dollar theme park war that’s driving attendance and shifting market share in Orlando, and might soon do the same here in Southern California.

The park’s new Despicable Me Minion Mayhem ride takes visitors into Gru’s lab, where they’re changed into minions during a 3D movie adventure, riding seats that jiggle and sway to the action on screen. The ride stands next to Super Silly Fun Land, a play area inspired by the amusement park of the same name in the first “Despicable Me” movie.

The minions have helped drive the “Despicable Me” franchise to more than $600 million in box office revenue, according to Box Office Mojo. Universal is planning “The Minions” for a 2015 release, and “Despicable Me 3” for 2017, illustrating the company’s faith in the minions as an enduring franchise.

But can they alone convince theme park fans to visit Universal instead of Disney?

Actually, they won’t have to. The minions are just one of several film and television franchises, including Transformers and The Simpsons, that Universal’s theme parks are developing to compete better with rival Disney.

The biggie, of course, is Harry Potter, which helped Universal Orlando’s Islands of Adventure theme park to a nearly 75 percent increase in annual attendance since the year before The Wizarding World of Harry Potter opened at that park in 2010, according to a report from the Themed Entertainment Association and industry consulting firm AECOM.

“I think that’s what made Disney step up their game and really put some thought into some of their new attractions,” said Duncan Dickson, an associate professor who teaches theme-park management at the University of Central Florida. “We’ve got a competitor here, and we’ve got to stay up.”

Dickson said Disney undoubtedly is making plans behind the scenes. He says Harry Potter in Orlando prompted Disney in 2011 to announce the construction of an “Avatar”-themed land for its Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park in Orlando, and to build new features in Fantasyland at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. “It made them pay a little more attention that we need to keep pace,” Dickson said.

Disney officials declined to comment for this article.

NBCUniversal and its corporate parent Comcast are investing $1.6 billion in a 25-year “Evolution” plan to grow the production and tourism businesses at Universal Studios Hollywood. The spending is expected to create 30,000 new jobs and make a $2 billion impact on the local economy, according to Universal.

The transformation plan kicked off with the opening of Transformers: The Ride 3D in 2012, followed by the minion ride and Super Silly Fun Land this summer. Next year, a Simpsons-themed Springfield land, featuring new restaurants and shops, will open around the park’s existing The Simpsons Ride, and a new 3D Fast and Furious experience will open on the park’s Studio Tour, which will expand further with a new evening tour.

In Orlando, Universal opened a Springfield land and the Transformers ride last year at Universal Studios Florida.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti is counting on Universal Studios Hollywood to help the city reach its goal of attracting 50 million tourists by 2020, up from the 42.2 million who came last year. At the minion ride opening, Garcetti said he hopes Universal’s attractions will help make up about half of the increase.

Since Comcast acquired much of NBCUniversal in 2009, the company has been more willing to invest in its theme parks, including the replication of Harry Potter, said Larry Kurzweil, president and chief operating officer of Universal Studios Hollywood.

“We learned in Florida that it’s an epic attraction in the history of theme parks,” Kurzweil said. “It’s not just about what happens to the theme park itself, (but) what happens to the city and the state where theme park is.”

Disney made a similar investment at its Anaheim theme parks, spending a reported $1.4 billion mostly to turn around its faltering Disney California Adventure. With the addition of Cars Land in 2012 and other attractions, the park had record attendance.

But Disneyland Resort has not announced plans for any additional new attractions.

At last year’s D23 Expo in Anaheim, Disney’s Imagineering theme park design division teased plans for “Project Orange Harvest,” a “Star Wars”-themed development. However, Disney has not followed up with an announcement of plans for any new Star Wars-themed attractions at its parks, even as it works on several new Star Wars films, following Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilm in 2012.

Bob Iger, the Walt Disney Co. president, was asked about Comcast’s investments and whether there’s enough room in the marketplace for both theme parks’ new features during a November conference call with investors.

“I think the jury is still out. We’ll see how much – just see how much they’re willing to invest, and what kind of creativity they have to invest in,” Iger said. “But, yes, there’s room in the marketplace. Sure.”

While Universal is following a similar script for adding attractions to Universal Studios Hollywood as it did at Universal Orlando, the two markets are very different. Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando stand about 8 miles apart, while a 35-mile drive on the I-5 separates Universal Studios Hollywood from Disneyland. The California parks also draw much more heavily from locals than the Orlando parks.

On the day of Minion Mayhem’s grand opening, Carina Rios of Montebello brought her two children during spring break to Universal Studios, lured by a deal to buy a ticket and get free admission for the rest of the year. Disney parks, she said, are more hectic. Also, her son, Jeremiah, 7, wanted to see the Minions – major characters in “Despicable Me 2,” the fourth-largest grossing animated movie of all time.

“He was bugging me to see it,” Rios said. “He said everyone from school was going to come on break.”

Universal officials shy away from discussing Disney specifically, but they admit that getting more tourism to the area helps everyone.

“While we will be a boost to Southern California, it’s all about getting overnight visitors to Los Angeles or Southern California,” Kurzweil said. “It’s good for all of us. ... We all benefit from it in some way. We benefit from the competitive activity.”

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